Late summer is one of my favorite times of year.
The hot, sweltering days are behind us (we hope!).
 More importantly, the wild flowers in my garden are
finally showing off their color.

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ANALYSIS / LOOKING BACK
August 2^nd Election BY TRUTH WATCH

On August 2^nd, 2022 voters turned down two General Obligation Bonds and a
Property Tax Levy Increase. The two General Obligation Bonds would have created $53.2 million dollars in debt for Raytown taxpayers. The third issue was a mill levy increase the city claimed had not been increased since 1978.

A Look Back . . .

In January of 2021, the City Administrator signed a contract for over $21,000 to "educate" voters about GO bonds. In March, 2022, fourteen (14) months later the Board of Aldermen voted to put the GO bonds on the August ballot.

 

Combined with these dollars it appears the “YES” group outspent the “VOTE NO” group by at least a four to one margin.

 

The “VOTE NO” group worked diligently to provide facts to voters that the city conveniently left out. The “YES” group claimed the opposition was spewing lies, but never showed any proof of this claim. They only offered disparaging personal comments and personal attacks on Facebook.

   

The “YES” group seemed surprised that the State required a 57.2% yes vote to pass the Bonds. The State is wise to set this threshold. GO bonds effectively place a mortgage on the homes and personal property of residential and business taxpayers, payable through property taxes.

 

If the bond revenue falls short because of inflation, or even worse, a recession, the ballot language clearly states the City can increase taxes above their projections without additional voter approval by the taxpayers.

 

Winners and Losers . . .

One week before the election the “yes” group got nasty. A police report had to be filed because someone on the “yes” side was personally threatening a person on the “no” side.

 

The “YES” group consistently blocked people who asked legitimate questions on their Facebook groups. The “YES” group made up wild stories of trash being dumped in people’s yards in response to a political blitz by “VOTE NO” campaigners.

 

. . . and How they reacted to the Vote

The “VOTE NO” group won. All three taxes were defeated. Most notably, the levy increase was lost by a landslide . . . 64% no, 36% yes.

 

Actions speak louder than words. The landslide loss of the levy increase demonstrates a distrust of City Hall by Raytown voters.

 

The City had claimed “voters hadn’t increased the levy since 1978”. Instead, they acted as if they were working with 1978 dollars, which the “VOTE NO” group showed as not true.

 

At the August 16th City Council meeting city staff reported that Raytown will be the recipient of windfall profit due to inflation indexing by Jackson County of personal property tax values.

 

More clearly stated, the value of used cars has been increased by 24.5% by Jackson County. This results in a windfall of $1,216,625 (million dollars) in tax revenue for Raytown City Hall. Raytown Parks and Recreation will receive an additional $606,973 (thousand dollars) this year as well.

 

To be clear, the 24.5% increase in personal property tax on used cars will be paid by the car owners. The windfall tax will go to the City of Raytown. This will also inflate tax dollars paid to the School District, Library, Blind Pension Fund, and all other groups funded by tax levies. 

 

This was not news to City Hall. Discussion with Jackson County had been going on for months.*

Why did City Hall not bring this up during the campaign? These higher tax rates on cars will hit homeowners and renters household budgets very hard this year.

The Last Word . . . 

After the August 2^nd election, a member of the No group stated, “It’s over, they lost, it’s time to move on.”

 

Former mayor Sue Frank said, “After talking to the last two mayors about Go Bonds, it was so sad to see the city maxed out what could be applied for. It’s unfortunate that all the money, time, effort, and angst could have been avoided if the city had made a reasonable request that would not cost some people their homes.”

What’s next?

Unhappy or disbelieving, Mayor Mike McDonough, in the space of one hour at the last City Council meeting, decided to call for a new election on November 8, adding two more Go bonds and a new sales tax measure.

 

The new GO bond is for $30,000,000 (million dollars) on a Transportation GO Bond and the same $7,200,000 (million dollars) for Storm Sewer repair and reconstruction.

 

The surprise and shock by people has been palpable. Jenette Gentry and Ryan Hoffman again expressed their belief that the tax package was still too high, advocating for a third to a half of what the city is asking. 

There Is a Better Way…

Spokespersons for “Not the Time For this Tax” said they would stand down if the city offered a reasonable request by cutting the Transportation Bond in half. Reasonable requests by other Cities in the area have proved successful.

 

McDonough and his crew still went forward with high GO bonds and a completely different sales tax. They again are showing they place their wants above their constituents' needs, especially now when high inflation is hurting families.

Vote NO on all three taxes November 8. 

*Jackson County raised the tax valuation on used cars to make up for the loss of sales tax revenue on new cars. Car lots remain empty of new model stock because of a shortage of microchips used in new vehicles. Governments are able to correct their cash shortage with the stroke of a pen. Renters and Homeowners in Raytown do not have that luxury. Their only recourse is to pay the higher taxes.

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